A large coalition of 27 Bay Area groups, mostly from Sonoma County, have been working together for several months to plan a PUBLIC FORUM ON POLICE ABUSE to be held on Saturday, October 27 at the LABOR CENTER, 1706 Corby Ave. in Santa Rosa. The forum will convene at 10:00 AM and will last until 5:00 PM. The public is invited to attend and voice their concerns. The event is free although donations will be accepted. Display and literature tables for groups are available. Call 953-3038 to reserve.

This coalition began forming in April of this year after local law enforcement killed Haki Thurston, Jeremiah Chass and Richard DeSantis within less than two months with a subsequent public outcry. Since then Walter Heller was tasered and died in Petaluma and Luis Sanchez was killed by Sheriff deputies. In July Ryan George died of neglect in the Sonoma County jail. All of these cases have raised public concerns.

A similar coalition formed ten years ago in Sonoma County after another spate of killings happened in the late Œ90s. Pressure from this earlier coalition brought the United States Commission on Civil Rights to Sonoma County for hearings in 1998. The Commission issued a report in 2000 which agreed with citizen concerns and made several recommendations. None of those recommendations have been implemented by local law enforcement. (copies of the 2000 report are available.)

Since April the coalition has expanded to include many groups and individuals concerned about various aspects of local law enforcement including ICE and the MAGNET GANG TASK FORCE. The common concern of these groups and individuals is the abuse of power by law enforcement in our community.

The purpose of the Oct. 27 forum is to create a COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN after people have attended various afternoon workshops. The forum will begin with speakers (see flyer) that include Booker Neal from the U.S. Department of Justice. There will be a community speak out and a special recognition of family members of those killed by police. There will also be an altar to honor those who died. The RED BROTHER NATIONHOOD will open the program at 10 AM with a drum ceremony. Food will be available.

The forum will be proceeded by a march on Monday, October 22, organized by FREE MIND MEDIA in conjunction with other marches against police abuse across the country.

For more information please contact any of the contact people above. Click here to view the flyer.

874-2248